Wednesday, January 25, 2023

3 Outdated Beauty Standards You Should Ignore


Image via Pexels (CC0 License)


Since the dawn of mankind, certain beauty standards have been upheld that everyone conforms to. With the growth of social media, these standards have become more widespread and damaging. Women and young girls grow up believing that particular things are covetable. You’re led to believe that you must look a certain way or do specific things to be considered beautiful. 


What happens if you don’t conform to these beauty standards? You’re shunned, called ugly, and made to feel second-best. There are almost too many outdated beauty standards to talk about - we could literally be here all day. Instead, today’s post will look at a handful of perhaps the most damaging concepts that should definitely be ignored. 


Beauty is defined by your size and shape

This is the most outdated and harmful beauty standard in the world. For decades, we’ve lived in a society that places more value on slim women over others. If you are above a size 8 or 10, you’re led to believe you’re a big woman. It’s completely and utterly outrageous. It leads to loads of young women growing up and thinking they need to lose weight or look a certain way. This is emphasized by Instagram models and influencers using edited photos to make them attain this beauty standard. 


Beauty is not defined by your size or shape. You can look however you like and be happy with it. Don’t let a history of size 0 models and slim people make you feel worse about yourself. As long as you are happy and healthy, that’s all that matters. 


You can’t go out without makeup

Makeup is one of the weirdest inventions ever. The point behind it is for people to experiment with looks or go the extra mile. In many ways, it’s an art form. There’s a certain pride in creating a nice look and receiving compliments for it. 


Unfortunately, we live in a world that’s consumed by makeup and filters. It means we rarely see people in their own skin. As such, when you look at celebrities or influencers online, their skin looks perfect. They never look like you do without makeup, so you feel compelled to always wear it. In turn, this damages your skin and makes you even less confident going makeup-free. Let’s ignore this trend once and for all! Normalize going out and about without any makeup on at all. 


Altering your body is frowned upon

There’s an irony in the beauty industry that people say you should look a certain way, but then throw in the idea of loving the skin you’re in. As such, if people go for breast augmentation, nose jobs, or any other type of cosmetic surgery, they’re frowned upon. 


You’re looked at with disdain, almost as though you’re doing something wrong. Realistically, there’s nothing wrong with altering your body if it helps you feel better about yourself. Just be sure you’re doing it for the right rising. Altering yourself to adhere to these outdated beauty standards is not a good idea. Doing it because it boosts your confidence and you’ve always had a problem you wanted to fix is perfectly fine and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed about it. 



We could honestly talk all day about beauty standards and how they’ve impacted the world. Hopefully, being aware of the three concepts above can give you a new perspective on life. Ignore what people tell you are right or wrong in the world of beauty: do whatever makes YOU happy. 



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